Occasionally, inclement weather and other safety or health conditions require FCPS to close, delay opening or dismiss early all or some schools. This decision involves careful evaluation of a variety of ­factors in a compressed time ­period. Whenever possible, decisions are made by 5 a.m. for morning closings and delays and by 10:00 a.m. for early closings, and announced soon after.

FCPS does not routinely announce that schools are open or operating on schedule, only that they are closed, delayed or dismissing early.

Families concerned about a child's safety due to hazardous weather conditions have the right to keep the child home. The Attendance section on page 38 of the 2014-15 Calendar Handbook lists hazardous weather condition as a lawful and excused absence.

PreKindergarten Schedule*When school opens 2 hours late, pre-k sessions are abbreviated to 1-1/2 hours. Morning classes start 2 hours late with the rest of the grades at the school and ­dismiss 1 hour later than usual. Breakfast is served. The afternoon session starts 1 hour later than usual and dismisses at the regular time. This schedule is intended to provide all pre-k students equitable instruc­tional time. *Does not apply to charter schools

Career & Technology Center When schools open 2 hours late, morning CTC classes start 2 hours late and dismiss about 1 hour later than usual. Afternoon sessions start 40 minutes later than usual and dismiss at the regular time.

Early Dismissal When schools close 2 hours early due to bad weather, morning pre-k students remain at school for dismissal with full-day students. Lunches are served. Afternoon pre-k and CTC programs are canceled; CTC students remain at their home schools. Flexible Evening High and Heather Ridge Twilight programs are canceled. See Regulation 400-2 for details.

After-School and Weekend ActivitiesGenerally, when schools are closed due to inclement weather, school-sponsored after-school and evening activities are canceled or postponed. On non-school days when the Snow Emergency Plan is in effect in Frederick County, all FCPS programs and activities are canceled or postponed. To find out if the plan is in effect, please monitor local radio stations.

Activities for Families at Home on Snow Days See the FCPS posting Grow with the Snow for fun and educational snow-day activities!

How to Find Out

FCPS notifies about 30 local and regional TV and radio stations plus our own media outlets about systemwide school closings. It is not possible to guarantee that the news media will announce this information promptly or accurately. For the fastest, most reliable information, check the ­following:

FCPS TV:Cable Channel 18 (Frederick area)

Internet:www.fcps.org
(in the News & Info section on the top right of the home page)

*FindOutFirst email delivers most routine FCPS news before other media, but email is not always fastest in an emergency. FCPS social media and www.fcps.org will generally be the fastest way to get emergency notices.

All FindOutFirst (FOF) emergency notices come from the FCPS Central Office. Emergencies include schools closing due to weather, power outages or the like. FOF does not typically send notices about lockdowns, most of which are precautionary and brief.

Plan Back-up Care For safety reasons, pre-arrange emergency back-up care for your child in the event that schools close unexpectedly. Teach your child what to do in case you are not at home when school closes, and provide the school with the name and number of someone nearby who is usually available when you are not at home.

On Non-School Days When the Snow Emergency Plan is in effect in Frederick County on non-school days, all FCPS programs and activities are canceled. Monitor local radio stations for Snow Emergency Plan status or visit the Maryland Department of Transportation website.